 "Vinesh Phogat storms into final, confirms at least silver after beating Guzman in wrestling 50kg semis")
After three bronze medals in shooting, the Indian contingent at the Paris Olympics is all set for medal of a different colour with wrestler Vinesh Phogat defeating Cuba’s Yusneylys Guzman to advance to women’s 50kg freestyle final.
**Paris Olympics: News, schedule, medals tally and more**The reigning Commonwealth Games champion and former Asian Games gold medallist defeated Guzman 5-0 to confirm at least silver — India’s first at the Paris Games as well as their fourth medal overall.
Vinesh also became the first Indian female wrestler to reach the final at the Olympics on Tuesday.
The only Indian wrestlers to reach an Olympic final are Sushil Kumar and Ravi Kumar Dahiya, who reached the final of the men’s 66kg and 57 kg in London 2012 and Tokyo 2020 respectively.
Sakshi Malik was the only female wrestler from India to win an Olympic medal before Vinesh’s heroics on Tuesday, winning bronze in Rio 2016.
Phogat had earlier stunned reigning Olympic champion Yui Susaki 3-2, with the Japanese grappler suffering her first defeat after winning 82 bouts on the bounce. That was followed by a 7-5 victory over Ukaine’s Oksana Livach.
Vinesh faces USA’s Sarah Ann Hildebrandt in the final on Wednesday and will hope to win a maiden Olympic gold medal in wrestling for India, which will also be the third individual gold for India in Olympic history.
Impact Shorts
View AllParis Olympics 2024: Day 11 LIVE Updates
If the first six minutes were a shocker for the wrestling world, the next six minutes against 2018 European champion Livach were an assurance of her class were she made a mockery of her opponent just when she needed to.
The last six minutes on the day against Lopez were another masterclass in tactical acumen where she was a tigress on the prowl waiting for that one mistake where she could get the single-leg hold of her opponent.
It was a very lonely battle as it wasn’t just about winning against the opponent on the mat but also about fighting a way more bitter battle off it.
Her character and credibility came in for questioning, and then there was a knee surgery less than a year before Olympics which had the Doubting Thomases wanting her to fail.
But for 18 minutes on Tuesday, Vinesh didn’t have the option of failing. After all, she came here as a representative of all those women who have been severely wronged by the wrestling establishment.
When she won against Susaki, she let out a cry of relief, laying flat on back but when she entered the final, the most poignant picture was that of her teary-eyed Belgian coach Woller Akos, who has also been her confidant in this battle. He was always present by her side.
It takes a village - Vinesh PHOGAT 🇮🇳 talking to her mother after becoming the first Indian to reach Olympic final in women’s wrestling#uww #wrestling #wrestleparis #olympics #paris2024 pic.twitter.com/Kh5SDCVR3T
— United World Wrestling (@wrestling) August 6, 2024
The last 18 months have been nothing short of a roller-coaster for the feisty lady, who became the face of a protest against former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is facing allegations of sexual harassment.
Pulled by the hair at India gate during the protest, she became the proverbial enfant terrible for the establishment. Her performance on Tuesday is a slap for the parent body that didn’t stand by her.
Vinesh was one of the faces of the protest along with Sakshi and Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Bajrang Punia, with the wrestlers demanding Brij Bhushan’s removal as WFI chief as well as arrest after the former BJP MP was accused of sexually harassing several female grapplers.
The semi-final bout saw Vinesh maintaining her balance, not allowing the Cuban to get her leg. Her feet were positioned perfectly to avert any crisis.
A point earned for passivity in the first round helped her immensely but she herself got a warning for not trying enough in the second round.
However, Vinesh perhaps loves being cornered and just like the Susaki bout, she fought back with vengeance for Lopez’s right leg and pinned her down for two points and choked her with leg hold to clinch the match.
With PTI inputs
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